About This Lesson
A prophet before Adam
Classical sirah works usually begin with the Prophet’s physical birth in the Year of the Elephant. Sayed Saleh Qazwini begins earlier, with the Prophet’s spiritual existence. He cites narrations, found in both Sunni and Shia sources, that the Prophet (pbuh&hf) was a prophet before Adam (p) was created, and that his light was the first thing God created. According to the school of the Ahl al-Bayt (p), this also applies to the Ahl al-Bayt (p), whose light was created long before the world. He explains the reason. God created this life as a test, and fairness requires that the teachers and guides be prepared before the test begins. The greatest of these teachers is the Prophet (pbuh&hf). It follows that his place in God’s plan was not an accident and that his rank is above any ordinary person. This is an answer to those who describe him as someone who forgets, sins and makes mistakes. Being the final prophet does not make him the least, just as Imam al-Mahdi (p) comes at the end without being the least important.
Sayed Qazwini also notes the different views on when the Prophet’s prophethood began. One view holds that it started at age forty. The belief he presents, which he says many Muslims share, is that he was already a prophet and messenger before he came into this world.
Foretold in the earlier scriptures
The Prophet’s name was known before his birth. Sayed Qazwini cites Qur’anic verses saying he is described in the Torah and the Gospel, that the People of the Book recognized him as they recognize their own sons, and that Jesus (p) gave good news of a messenger named Ahmad. Rabbis and monks looked for specific signs, such as a mark of prophethood on his shoulder and his refusal to accept charity while accepting gifts. Citing a narration from one of the Imams (p), he explains that Jewish tribes left the Levant and settled near Medina, in places such as Khaybar and Fadak, because their prophecies pointed to that region.
Asked why these prophecies cannot simply be found in today’s Bible, he answers that the Bible has gone through many revisions, while the Qur’an has one version. When the Qur’an told Jews and Christians that their own books described the Prophet (pbuh&hf), no one is recorded as denying it. He then mentions passages that some read as referring to the Prophet (pbuh&hf), while saying there is no complete certainty about them. These are Isaiah 42 on a servant of God who brings justice, in a chapter that mentions Kedar, a son of Ishmael; the promise to Moses (p) of a prophet “like you” from among their brethren; and John 16:13 on one who speaks only what he hears.
The lineage and the purity of his forefathers
Sayed Qazwini recites the Prophet’s lineage up to Adnan, on which there is no disagreement, and notes a narration telling people to stop counting at Adnan. He then sets out two beliefs of the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt (p). First, every one of the Prophet’s forefathers was born of lawful marriage. Second, all of them were monotheists who followed the religion of Abraham (p), even as idol worship spread in Mecca. He cites the Qur’anic reference to the Prophet’s movement among “those who prostrate” and the Prophet’s saying that he was passed down only through the purest of fathers and mothers.
Was Azar the father of Abraham?
Some argue that the Qur’an calls Azar, an idol worshipper, the father (ab) of Abraham (p). Sayed Qazwini explains, from the teachings of the Imams (p), that the Arabic ab can mean an uncle, a father-in-law or a teacher, while walid means a biological parent. In the Qur’an, the sons of Jacob (p) count Ishmael (p), who was Jacob’s uncle, among his “fathers”. Abraham (p) also stopped seeking forgiveness for Azar when he was young, yet in old age he prayed for the forgiveness of his own parents. In the Shia argument, this shows that Azar was his uncle.
Why this matters
Sayed Qazwini says the debate is not abstract. Claims that the Prophet’s forefathers were polytheists were used against Imam Ali (p) by casting his father, Abu Talib, as a disbeliever. He presents Abu Talib as a believer and the Prophet’s ancestry as one light passed down to Abd al-Muttalib and then to Abdullah and Abu Talib. In the question-and-answer session, he explains how idol worship grew from honouring righteous people. He also explains that seeking closeness to God through the Prophet (pbuh&hf) and the Ahl al-Bayt (p) is not worship, because God himself commanded it, much as he commanded the angels to bow to Adam (p).
- 00:00 Recap and outline of the lesson
- 03:06 The Prophet’s light as God’s first creation, and why
- 12:32 When did his prophethood begin?
- 14:32 Foretold in the Torah and the Gospel; tribes near Medina
- 21:44 Altered scriptures and biblical passages
- 29:57 The lineage up to Adnan
- 33:03 Purity and monotheism of his forefathers
- 41:19 Azar and the meaning of ‘ab’
- 49:28 Why it matters: Abu Talib
- 52:32 Questions: idol worship and intercession
This lesson is part of The Life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh&hf), a weekly course with Sayed Saleh Qazwini.